An introduction to EU law and institutions Chris Bryant September 2015

Overview The EU EU Treaties & Institutions Substantive Law Refresher of some basics Procedure EU legislative process Infringement procedures / complaints National measures - notification procedure The Courts Eurobabble Page 2 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

EU Membership Page 3 © Berwin Leighton Paisner 2010

The EU – Member States - 28 AustriaBelgiumBulgaria CroatiaCzech RepublicCyprus DenmarkEstoniaFinland FranceGermanyGreece HungaryIrelandItaly LatviaLithuaniaLuxembourg MaltaNetherlandsPoland PortugalRomaniaSlovakia SloveniaSpainSweden And last but not least, ….. United Kingdom

The EEA 28 Member States plus: Norway Iceland Liechtenstein EEA Agreement Note position of Switzerland – part of EFTA but not EEA Page 5 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

EU institutions and bodies Page 6 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

The EU institutions - Overview European Commission European Parliament European Council Council of Ministers/Council of the EU Court of Justice Court of Auditors European Central Bank Other bodies: Economic & Social Committee Committee of the Regions European Ombudsman Page 7 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

The European Commission Executive arm of the EU Main roles: Proposing legislation Managing existing EU policies Guardian of the Treaties Delegated legislation (“comitology”) Structure: 28 Commissioners, headed by President 7 Vice-Presidents, including the Representative of the Union for Foreign Policy and Security Policy A First Vice-President Page 8 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

New Commission structure Page 9 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

New faces… Page 10 © Berwin Leighton Paisner Commission President: Jean-Claude Junker High Representative: Federica Mogherini UK Commissioner: Jonathan Hill Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union Competition Commissioner: Margrethe Vestager

The European Parliament Co-legislator on most policy areas Based in Brussels, Strasbourg & Luxembourg Committee & plenary structure Some “celebrated” members and alumni Page 11 © Berwin Leighton Paisner Nick Nige

European Council Political rather than legislative body Made up of: Heads of State President of the European Commission Permanent President Page 12 © Berwin Leighton Paisner Donald Tusk

Council of Ministers Just call me… Council of Ministers or… Council of the EU or… Council Representatives of Member State governments Different formations COREPER – I and II Rotating presidency – work in trios - UK in July Page 13 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

Court of Justice of the EU Role = to ensure observance of EU law Court of Justice 28 judges 9 advocates-general General Court 28 judges No advocates-general Civil Service Tribunal Based in Luxembourg Case references: ECJ = C-xxx/xx, General Court = T-xxx/xx Page 14 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

Other institutions and bodies Other EU institutions Court of Auditors European Central Bank Other bodies: Economic & Social Committee Committee of the Regions European Ombuds(wo)man Page 15 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

EU law – a refresher Page 16 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

EU law - Overview Sources of law Treaties Secondary legislation Substantive law Supremacy Direct effect State liability General principles of EU law Interpretation of EU law Page 17 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

Sources of law – the Treaties Rome 1957 Now the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) Maastricht 1992 Now the Treaty on European Union (TEU) Amsterdam 1997 Nice 2001 Constitution 2004 (not ratified) Lisbon Page 18 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

Sources of law – secondary legislation Regulations Directives Decisions Soft law Case law Page 19 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

Substantive law - Supremacy EC law v national law Rule established in Costa v ENEL National courts must set aside conflicting national law, even if it was adopted prior to the EU rule (Simmenthal)

Substantive law - Direct effect Conditions for direct effect: Clear / unambiguous Unconditional / no implementation required Creates rights for individuals Treaty provisions, Regulations & Decisions Directives: Vertical direct effect Horizontal direct effect

Substantive law - State liability Member States must make good the damage they cause individuals by breaches of EU law Francovich Conditions: Rule of law intended to confer rights on individuals “Sufficiently serious” breach Causal link

General principles of EU law Proportionality Subsidiarity Legal certainty Non-discrimination Fundamental rights Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

Interpretation of EU law Contextual approach Purposive approach Subjective Objective Language versions

Procedural aspects Page 25 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

Procedural aspects - Overview EU legislative procedures Infringement procedures / complaints Court actions Preliminary references Direct actions Actions for damages Page 26 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

EU legislative procedures Importance of legal basis Ordinary legislative procedure Consultation procedure Consent procedure Consultation of national parliaments Legislative initiative Commission Parliament Citizens’ Initiative Comitology Page 27 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

Infringement procedures / complaints Action against Member State Complaints Who can make them? Subject-matter? Infringement procedures Initial inquiries & correspondence (informal) Letter of formal notice Reasoned opinion Court action (ECJ) Periodic penalties Page 28 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

Court actions Preliminary reference (Article 267 TFEU) Questions from national courts / tribunals Interpretation & validity of EU law Direct actions (Article 263 TFEU) Usually General Court Locus standi issues Actions for damages (Article 268 TFEU) Conditions Page 29 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

The future Page 30 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

In, Out, Shake it all about…. Legal mechanism Exit options EEA member (like Norway) EFTA but not EEA (like Switzerland) Bilateral agreements WTO-only relationship Page 31 © Berwin Leighton Paisner It’s that man again…

Key questions for businesses to consider What will be the effect on existing laws? Will it lead to less red tape / regulation? How will it affect existing contracts? Will there be no more competition law? Will it affect our travel rights? Page 32 © Berwin Leighton Paisner

An introduction to EU law and institutions Chris Bryant This document provides a general summary only and is not intended to be comprehensive. Specific legal advice should always be sought in relation to the particular facts of a given situation.